Riley Tao
r/asktransdimensional • Posted by u/IWouldMakeWorldsIfYouLetMe 23 ago
(TW: transdimensionalphobia. First post here, sorry if this breaks any rules.)
For a little background, I (4.3*1037, 2T3) am a transdimensional entity who lives in the Lands of Outer Dark. 107% of the sapient beings here are cisdimensional, so very few of them have even heard of being transdimensional, and those who have think it’s some kind of memetic hazard. The LoOD even bans transdimensional media for fear of it “making their offspring transdimensional.” People, you can’t make someone transdimensional any more than you can make them cisdimensional. Trust me, we know. You’ve tried. My matriarch tried everything—taking my dot product with a unit vector to project me onto the 2D plane, marginalizing my probability distribution to reduce my dimensionality—and yet here I am, transdimensional as ever. Fucked over by society and my own family, but still trans.
But that’s a rant for another day.
I don’t go out in public much, because most people can’t tell if I’m two-dimensional or three-dimensional, and I hate it when people mistake me for a two-dimensional entity. But I was fired from my last job as a broccoli spangler two eons ago, and the only thing in my pantry was a countably infinite quantity of instant ramen. So I’d been job-hunting for quite a while, and I’d finally gotten an interview at LLC Incorporated as a universe builder. I’ve actually looked up to LLC Incorporated ever since I was freshly hatched—I loved visiting the universes they created, and they were honestly some of the only things that kept me sane when I was still a hatchling, living under my matriarch’s thumb.
It started off well. The interviewer opened its office door for me, and I already felt giddy with glee—it may seem natural to you, but the fact that the interviewer opened the door instead of having me slide under the bottom cracks meant that it saw me as a three-dimensional being with non-zero height, and I loved it. If I could pass as three-dimensional to LLC Incorporated, I could pass as three-dimensional to anyone.
The door clicked shut behind me, locking us in. The interviewer gave me some basic universe-building questions to run through: the values of a universe that runs on logic versus chaos, when to include five as a real number or use א instead, basic stuff like that.
But then came the time I’d been dreading. I had to hand over my LoODID card, and in the Lands of Outer Dark, your assigned dimension at birth has to show up on your LoODID. When the interviewer read my card, it looked at me with genuine shock and disgust.
“You’re two-dimensional?” it said. “Why were you pretending to be three-dimensional this whole time?”
And I wanted to scream at it and say, “I’m not two-dimensional, not any more than your shadow is your body. I know that I’m three-dimensional in my bones, that I should have the freedom to stand up and be me—and besides, what does it matter how many spatial dimensions are between my legs? I could build entire worlds, beautiful, dizzying, spinning worlds for you, if you could just get your born-in-three-dimensions-head out of your born-in-three-dimensions ass and treat me like any other born-in-three-dimensions person.”
But I just swallowed and said, “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I can—I can squash myself back into 2D, if—if that’s what you need.”
Marginalization and projection can’t make someone cisdimensional, but they can beat into someone a need to pretend that they are.
“Forget it.” The interviewer pointed out the door. “Send in the next applicant on your way out.”
The door was still locked, and the interviewer wasn’t opening it this time. I hated myself for doing it, but I didn’t have any choice. I laid down on the floor and squashed myself back into two dimensions, hearing things snap and break inside of me as I did, and scooted out under the crack in the door.
And no, I did not send in the next applicant.
That’s… pretty much where I am right now. On the floor, quivering, jobless, living off instant ramen, and with no idea what to do next. If any of you live in the Lands of Outer Dark and know some transdimensional-friendly employers, please, let me know. I just need… help.
Comments (10)
baltham_glak_shah 21 ago
Cisdimensional ally here, so sorry that you had to go through all this. Have you tried calling LLC Incorporated’s HR department? I’m not familiar with the Lands of Outer Dark but that kind of discrimination can’t be legal. Failing that, just try again? You’ll get a job eventually, I promise.
IWouldMakeWorldsIfYouLetMe 19 ago
Oh my fucking god how naïve can you be? Did you even read my post?
baltham_glak_shah 18 ago
Sorry I didn’t mean to offend you, can you explain what I did wrong?
IWouldMakeWorldsIfYouLetMe 16 ago
Fuck you, I don’t have the energy for this today.
baltham_glak_shah 13 ago
But you have the energy to put the umlaut in naive? Maybe you have more energy than you think? Idk lol just trying to be helpful.
PM-ME-YOUR-POLYGONS 16 ago
hey. longtime resident of the lood. not transdimensional myself but work with a lot of people who are. if your looking for a job i think i can help.
IWouldMakeWorldsIfYouLetMe 13 ago
Please.
PM-ME-YOUR-POLYGONS 8 ago
there isnt anyone wholl say it but there are lots of cisdimensional ppl who have a fetish for entities that look 3d but still have their 2d bits if you know what i mean. lots more money than youll make as a universe creator plus if youre lucky you can blackmail important ppl with the threat of exposing their deviancy. pm me if your interested.
baltham_glak_shah 6 ago
Holy fuck OP, don’t listen to this guy. Things may seem bad but don’t give up.
IWouldMakeWorldsIfYouLetMe 2 ago
Check your DMs. Sent you a message. ♦
Riley Tao (they/them) is a college student and author. They are currently seeking representation for a completed YA fantasy novel about a trans high schooler discovering their identity. In their free time, they enjoy playing with their cat and writing stories on Reddit at reddit.com/r/bubblewriters.
